Should Hollywood start getting worried?

China, the world’s second-biggest film market (North America has reclaimed the crown), has been lukewarm to Hollywood titles that have the coveted opportunity to release in that country.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods, the latest U.S. movie to secure a Chinese theatrical release, opened with a dismal $4.4 million, analyzed as a deep 85 percent decline compared to the first installment’s China bow. In 2019, Shazam! debuted to $30 million in the Middle Kingdom.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever also suffered from less than stellar box office performances at the Chinese box office. Only James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water and Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World: Dominion fared well in the PRC in the post-pandemic era.

Hollywood anxiously awaits how three coming titles which got the day-and-date release dates in China will fare – Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, starring Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Rege-Jean Page and Hugh Grant (March 31), The Super Mario Bros. Movie with a voice cast led by Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen and Charlie Day (April 5) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, featuring Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper (May 5).

Overall, in the offshore market, Shazam! Fury of the Gods also did not ignite the box office. The David F. Sandberg-directed action-adventure-comedy, headlined by Zachary Levi, back in the title role, Asher Angel and Jack Dylan Grazer, picked up $35 million.

Top territories for the DC Entertainment production include Brazil, the United Kingdom, Indonesia and Australia.

In the domestic box office charts, Shazam 2 did not even reach the low projection of $35 million. While the DC Extended Universe movie bowed at number one with $30.5 million, those numbers were way down from the original’s $53.5 million.

Scream VI, the previous weekend’s top movie, fell to second place with $17.5 million. Box office experts consider that drop as within expectations. The sixth addition to the slasher franchise, top-billed by Courteney Cox, Melissa Barrera and Wednesday’s Jenna Ortega, has now amassed $76 million domestically and $116 million globally.

Creed III, starring Michael B. Jordan who also directs, ranked third and picked up $15.3 million. After three weeks, the sports drama also starring Tessa Thompson and Jonathan Majors has made $127.7 million in US and Canada. With a worldwide take of $224.3 million, this latest Creed has already surpassed the global tallies of the first two installments.

Adam Driver’s 65 took the fourth spot. The sci-fi thriller expounding on time travel and dinosaurs collected $5.8 million.

Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania slipped to fifth after making $4.07 million.

Rounding out the top ten in the US and Canada were, in order: Elizabeth Banks’ Cocaine Bear, $3.87 million; the faith-based Jesus Revolution, $3.5 million; Champions, Woody Harrelson’s comedy-drama, $3 million; Avatar: The Way of Water, $1.92 million, and a domestic cume of $678.1 million after 14 weeks; and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, still in the magic circle after 13 weeks, $1.5 million.